


I Know You

by QueenofOblivion



Category: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Confessions, Dorks in Love, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-11
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-19 18:16:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5976523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenofOblivion/pseuds/QueenofOblivion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In hindsight, writing about his crush on the Internet wasn't the best thing Patroclus ever did but at least something good came out of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Know You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lonelylibrarian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonelylibrarian/gifts).



> I screwed yup. I had this in the bag but suddenly, obligations came up (namely weddings) and simply couldn't escaped them. Plus, the internet connection in the hotel was absolute shit so I had 3 days without wifi. So I'm very sorry about that...
> 
> Also, this fic came up from a headcanon that I found in Tumblr. I couldn't remember the name of the blog but it was so sweet that I just had to write a oneshot for it. I'll put the link here when I find it.

“Are you still at it?” a feminine voice said in disbelief. 

  


Startled, Patroclus cringed at the sudden intrusion before casting his best friend an annoyed look. It would probably have looked more intimidating if it weren’t for the light blush on his cheeks. Still, he had his pride. 

  


“It’ a free country, Briseis,” Patroclus replied and closed his laptop. He didn’t need her to know the details of his daily posts. Chances were, she would pester him about it again. “And besides, it’s not like what I’m doing is illegal.” He huffed. 

  


Briseis simply rolled her eyes as she claimed the vacant seat beside him and began emptying out textbooks and journals from her bag onto the table. 

  


“Yeah, but it’s creepy, Pat. I mean, you’ve been pining for this guy since, what, middle school? I think you’re way overdue for a confession,” she said. She pulled a biology textbook towards herself and flipped through the pages in search of their homework assignment with a tired sigh. The deadline might be Thursday next, but biology was Patroclus’ strong suit, so she might as well coax him into teaching her. “I mean, it’s not like he’ll beat you up for it or anything.”

  


Patroclus groan and slumped in his chair. “Well, yeah, but I’m going to become a social pariah when the word gets out that a nobody approached Achilles and confessed to him. You and I are already nerds as it is. I’d rather not… receive any unwanted attention.”

  


Briseis gave him a pointed look before shaking her head and taking his hand in a comforting grip. “It’s your choice, Pat, but I hate to see you so unhappy when the solution is right there in front of you.” 

  


“I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me.” Patroclus gave her a small smile before straightening up and leaning close to Briseis. He didn’t want to dwell on his pathetic pining anymore. “So this is our homework? How much have you done already?”

  


It worked. Soon enough, the both of them were engrossed in their work and Patroclus momentarily forgot about his little dilemma. 

  


Ever since he had been a junior in middle school, Patroclus had a Tumblr blog where he would post whatever he liked or deemed important enough to talk about on the Internet. He wasn’t too big on social media, but he enjoyed having a place where he could publicly share his thoughts or opinions without fuss. He kept his blog to himself and he didn’t have a lot of followers, nor did he follow a lot of people. He prefered it to be personal, and the only people who knew about it was Briseis. As a matter of fact, she only knew of it because she had caught him writing an impressively lengthy essay on his crush once: Achilles Pelides.

  


Just then, the sounds of laughter, cursing and shouting carried up to the second floor of the library from the field outside. Pausing from his diagram of the human skeleton, Patroclus looked out the window and saw the track athletes on their daily runs. Beside a disgruntled looking Automedon, sitting on the ground breathlessly, was Achilles. By the looks of his teammates’ tired or good-naturedly scowling faces, it would appear that Achilles had broken his own track record. Again.

  


And as usual, at the sight of him, Patroclus had plunged into his own thoughts. 

  


Patroclus couldn’t remember when he had started to liked Achilles exactly. It had definitely been sometime during middle school, when Patroclus had been going through the most awkward phase of his life. He had no interest in sports, he was bad at social interactions, and he would rather blend into crowds then be the centre of them. The only person saving him from being a complete loner was Briseis. The Literature professor had paired them up for a group assignment once and ever since then, one was never seen without the other.

  


Achilles, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Patroclus.

  


With his golden curls, bright eyes and winning smile, it was easy to understand his magnetism. Achilles had an easygoing personality and was even good with words, a skill Patroclus sorely lacked. And on top of all that, Achilles was amazing when it came to sports. Especially track running. 

  


Talk about a crush way out of his league. 

  


You didn’t need to be a genius to get why Patroclus chose to vent out his frustrations about his crush on his Tumblr despite how… stalker-ish it may be. As if sitting at the table by the window that had a perfect view of the track team outside wasn’t bad enough. 

  


Maybe I’ll outgrow my crush before graduation Patroclus thought morosely Or maybe by some miracle I’ll find someone else who actually likes my awkwardness... yeah right. He snorted, and Briseis looked up from her textbook to raise an eyebrow at him. 

  


“Thinking about something funny there, lover boy?” she teased. Once again, Patroclus couldn’t school the blush that appeared on his cheeks fast enough, and he shook his head. 

  


“N-Nothing… Let’s try to finish this quickly so we can have lunch at the diner down the street.”

  


“Sounds like a plan and I think you could use a little pick-me-up anyway. I don’t think I can stand your kicked puppy face any longer.” 

  


Patroclus playfully nudged the girl’s shoulder with his own. “Hey, I’m not that bad!”

  


Briseis gave him a look that was half-exasperated, half-amused. “Someday I’ll take a picture of your face whenever Achilles is within sight and show it to you.” 

  


Patroclus was about to make a witty comeback but just then, the librarian suddenly rounded the corner and gave them a glare that could have made stronger men shrivel up in fear. The two of them hurriedly returned to their books until the sound of the woman’s high-heels clicking against the floor faded away.

  


Only when the coast was completely clear did Briseis and Patroclus let out a chuckle.

  


“Alright you know what? Let’s have lunch first and then we’ll go to my house to work on the rest of our homework.” Briseis suggest. “I’m getting hungry anyway.”

  


Patroclus didn’t have any problem with that and so the duo got up and cleaned the table of their belongings before heading out of the library. 

  


The whole time, they were completely unaware of a pair of eyes staring up at their table from the track field. 

  


-

  


Monday, in Patroclus’ opinion, was the best day of the week. Definitely for himself, at least.

  


All of his favourite and best subjects were in a single day, the cafeteria served his favourite meal, the fruit shop near his house would stock up on fresh figs, his favourite fruit, and best of all, Monday was movie night with Briseis where they would choose a lame, low budget, B-rated movie and make fun of it. 

  


That day had been a particularly good day for Patroclus - until he was called into Mr Chiron’s office just as the last bell rang and signalled the end of the school day. 

  


Briseis had offered to wait for him in her car but Patroclus had decided that it would be better for her to head on to her home first and start piling up on junk food and snacks for the night. He’d had to reassure her that he would bring the worst movie he could find so she could actually fling popcorn at the screen during their watch, but he didn’t want her waiting for God-knows-how-long.

  


Mr Chiron was his favourite teacher and he always enjoyed his biology classes, so Patroclus couldn’t help but wonder if he was calling him in because he had failed his latest test. In hindsight, Patroclus thought, he shouldn’t have multitasked between studying and helping Briseis chosed her dress for her cousin’s wedding just before an important test. He rapped politely on the door and waited until he heard Mr Chiron reply.

  


“Please come in.”

  


When Patroclus entered, he was surprised to see another student seated in a chair in front of Mr Chiron’s desk. It was Ajax, one of Achilles’ friends and teammates. Patroclus was caught off guard when the athlete gave him a sheepish grin. 

  


“Thank you for coming at such short notice, Patroclus. Please sit down, this will only take a moment of your time,” Mr Chiron said with a gesture to the vacant seat beside Ajax. Timidly, Patroclus shut the door behind him and did as he was told. 

  


“Is there something wrong, sir?” he asked. He wasn’t one of those perfect students who never once get called into a teacher’s office, but it was rare that he was. Usually it involved him struggling over certain subjects, or the teacher trying to coax him into joining a club or getting him to just be a little more… friendly. 

  


“Nothing of the sort, my boy. I was just wondering if you would like to lend a hand to your classmate,” Mr Chiron began carefully. “You did excellently in your previous test and I noticed that Biology is one of your strongest subjects beside Chemistry, and so I was wondering if you would tutor Ajax here. I believe that your patience and impressive grasp of the subject is what he needs to pass my class.” 

  


Patroclus blinked. Well, he hadn’t expected this when he was called to Mr Chiron’s office. 

  


Beside him, Ajax gave him a pleading look. “C’mon, man, I promise to return the favour if you help me out here. Heck, I’ll willingly be your servant for an entire year if you help me with this class. Please, Patroclus?”

  


“You… really don’t have to go to that extent,” Patroclus replied, trying not to cringed at the mental image of the entire student body discovering that he had somehow made Ajax, one of the most popular guys in school, follow his every step like a good dog. No. Just no. He liked his anonymity, thank you very much. 

  


“So you’re in, yeah?” Again, Ajax gave him that imploring look. It was starting to creep Patroclus out. He nodded slowly in answer, and was startled when Ajax gave a loud cheer.

  


The teacher smile at them from behind his desk. “Thank you for your help, Patroclus. I hope you two will do your very best. That will be all.” Both boys instantly jumped up and left together.

  


“You don’t know how much this means to me, Menotiades. Really. I suck at Biology!” Ajax exclaimed once they were outside. Patroclus was surprised again to find the bulky athlete following him towards the school exit. “I was so glad that Mr Chiron chose you to be my tutor. I mean, everyone knows that Biology is child’s play to you.” 

  


One of the things Patroclus had never been able to control, other than the mystifying ways Fate dictated his life, was the way his face could turn as red as a tomato at the slightest provocation.

  


“Patroclus. Just… call me Patroclus,” he said, trying to hide his blush. “And I guess I just understand the subject a little faster than normal. So, umm, when do you wanna start the tutoring session?” Patroclus added. The sooner they began, the better. 

  


They begin discussing when and where they’d meet as they left the school grounds. The hallway was not as busy now that school was over, so Patroclus and Ajax could be clearly seen by someone who had just turn into the corner of the hall. He frowned when he saw the two of them together. Muttering a curse, he turns away from the sight. 

  


-

  


The week went by in the blink of an eye and before Patroclus knew it, Friday was already staring him in the face. 

  


He was back in the library again, but this time, he hadn’t bothered to bring his bag or even any books with him. Apart from being a strategic location to observe (no, he wasn’t going to use the word ‘stalk’) Achilles during his track practice, the library was his place to relax, because it was mostly quiet and the place was big enough for people to sneak in for a quick, unobserved nap between classes. Not that he personally had ever tried it. 

  


Patroclus was completely exhausted by the sheer amount of work he’d had. Not only did he and Briseis have assignments piling up faster than they could complete them, he had one-to-one biology revision with Ajax almost every day since he had agreed to help him. It was no wonder that Mr Chiron had mentioned being patient when they had met in his office. If Patroclus was frank, Ajax was absolutely hopeless in Biology. Patroclus could practically feel the stress bowing down his shoulders. Rubbing his temple, he wondered absently if there was an alternative way to help Ajax actually enjoy the subject. Maybe he could come up with a fun game or something to at least help him remember the names of bones in the human body. 

  


While Patroclus was engrossed in his woes and nursing his exhaustion, he failed to notice that Achilles had entered the library and was striding straight towards him. It was only when Achilles let out a loud and irritated cough that Patroclus looked up. His brown eyes widened with shock, any and all coherent thoughts fleeing his mind. 

  


It took at least a few seconds for his brain to register that Achilles Pelides was standing in front of him with his arms crossed over his impressive chest and a scowl on his beautiful face. 

  


“Are you actually talking about me on your Tumblr or is there someone else I need to kill before I ask you out to dinner?” Achilles suddenly blurted out.

  


Patroclus blinked owlishly and silently hoped that he wasn’t doing something stupid, such as gaping with his mouth open like a goldfish. To recover from the embarrassment, Patroclus decided to use his masterly knowledge of the English language. 

  


“Ummm… w-what?” Yeah. This wasn’t turning out to be one of his best moments. 

  


Achilles was aggravated but it was clear to Patroclus that he wasn’t actually angry at him. Patroclus couldn’t help tilting his head to one side as he wondered just why his crush had ambushed him in the library out of the blue. Though Achilles was making it hard for Patroclus’s self-restraint. Seriously, how soft were those curls? 

  


“I don’t know what to think of anymore! Were you talking about me all this while or is it actually about Ajax?” Achilles began to rant, much to Patroclus’ bewilderment. “He’s blonde and in the track team too. Not to mention that you two did share some classes during middle school. I know that you see Briseis as some sort of little sister only and nothing more, which was a huge relief to find out - though I had doubts when I saw just how close you two are - but when Ajax suddenly came into the picture, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I thought you’d been talking about me but when I saw you two leaving Mr Chiron’s office -” 

  


Patroclus put his rant to a halt by raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Wait. You said ‘your Tumblr’ earlier.” He could hardly believe it himself, but he had to ask. “You… knew about my blog?” The last bit came out more as a squeak than anything else, but Patroclus was too shocked to blush.

  


At least Achilles had the decency to look abashed, and he immediately turned his attention to the intricate pattern on the library carpet. “I-I’m not actually a follower… but I’ve read your every post ever since you made a Tumblr account,” he admitted.

  


Patroclus realised then and there that today was the day he would be laid to rest. His gravestone would read, ‘Here lies Patroclus. Gone from this Earth at such a young age from sheer shock and embarrassment.’ 

  


Sounds about right. 

  


“Why would y-you even…” Patroclus couldn’t finish the sentence. His fight or flight response was screaming at him to get the hell out of the library right now. Screw Achilles and his perfect looks. His social life (no matter how non-existent it might be) was at stake here!

  


“Because I like you.” Achilles said. He abruptly straightened up, and his eyes were burning with confidence. Patroclus both envied and admired that look. “I’ve… liked you since middle school when I first saw you at the cafeteria, alone yet at ease in your own world. I wanted to talk to you, but you caught me off guard when you smile at Briseis. You’re really smart and good with words; you know just what to say to people and the teachers all like you, not just because of your test results but also because of your well-thought manners.” Achilles paused for a moment. He blushed, of all things, and continued, “You’re also… really cool. I mean, you’re aloof but you always smile when Briseis is with you. You’re the only one that can keep up with Odysseus in the debate team and you’re also really cute when you wear your favourite grey beanie in September. You love puppies and dogs, which is adorable, and you’re undeniably handsome too.” With a deep sigh, Achilles finally stopped and simply stared at Patroclus. 

  


He looked so hopeful that it actually gave Patroclus the courage to finally open his mouth and - 

  


“Mr.Pelides? I would appreciate it if you would blurt out your sudden and very loud confession to Mr Menotiades somewhere outside the library. Other students are trying to study after all.” 

  


The duo whipped their heads around to the librarian who had somehow appeared out of thin air and was glaring at them without any restraint. Her piercingly icy stare successfully sent shivers down Patroclus’ spine. It was only then with horror did Patroclus realise that basically everyone in the library had heard Achilles’ confession, and whispers were now circulating the room.

  


Without thinking or hesitating, Patroclus quickly grabbed Achilles’ hand and dragged him out of the library without looking back. Fortunately Achilles was willing to follow him. Only when they were outside and somewhere safely private, did Patroclus have the gall to look at him again. Achilles didn’t appear to regret his confession in the slightest, though he was apprehensive of Patroclus’ response. 

  


Honestly, this guy… Patroclus thought fondly, and gave Achilles a small smile. “It’s you. All those posts were about you, Achilles. I don’t think it’s necessary to tell what I think about you at this point,” Patroclus said, and his heart gave a leap when he saw how Achilles’ expression brightened. 

  


“I’m glad to hear that ‘cause I don’t know what I’d say to Ajax if I started punching him. I mean, everyone on the track team already knows about my crush on you.” 

  
“Wait, what…?”


End file.
